


Acceptance

by aces_nitro9



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Armitage Hux & Phasma Friendship, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Armitage Hux Hates Kylo Ren, Assassination Attempt(s), Best Friends, Brendol Hux Being a Jerk, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Gen, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Major Character Injury, Mentioned Brendol Hux, Nice Armitage Hux, Phasma Redemption (Star Wars), Redemption, Starting a new life, animal compainions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27559930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aces_nitro9/pseuds/aces_nitro9
Summary: Kylo Ren tries to assassinate General Hux and Captain Phasma on orders from Supreme Leader Snoke, but Hux saves them both and takes them to an unnamed moon in the Unknown Regions where they have to start a new life. Trigger Warning: mentions s*xual assault and abuse in the third chapter.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Brendol Hux, Armitage Hux & Millicent the Cat, Armitage Hux & Phasma, Captain Phasma & General Hux, Phasma & Brendol Hux
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Unimaginable](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25336645) by [Dianalynn1138](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dianalynn1138/pseuds/Dianalynn1138). 



> Thank you to Dianalynn1138 for inspiring me to write this :) . If I hadn't read their fic I would have never thought to write anything like this. And thank you to all my friends who encouraged me to keep writing and post my work. Without them, I wouldn't have finished this and probably wouldn't be posting it or anything else here. <3 This is the first fic that I've written that I'm actually proud of so I hope you all enjoy it! It takes some angsty turns so have fun with that XD. Tysm for reading and comments and or kudos would be appreciated.

Phasma opened her eyes to see the pale face of General Hux looking down at her; a large bandage covered his left cheek and his usual cold, stern expression was replaced with one of slight concern. “Good, you’re awake, Phasma.”

As he said these words, an alarming realization came over her. She had no idea where she was and she couldn’t remember any of the last seventy-two hours. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as she asked, “Where are we, General?” She tried to sit up and her head began to pound and the room began to spin.

Hux gently guided her back down and said, “Don’t try to sit up just yet, you have a concussion. And I’m no longer a general, just like you are no longer a captain. Don’t you remember?” His voice was bitter when he said these words. 

Phasma closed her eyes and the room stopped spinning. “No, I do not remember.” Slight confusion crept into her voice. 

Hux sighed, stepping back and sitting down on a wooden chair with a small grunt of pain. Phasma noticed that one of his arms was in a sling and that a bandage was wrapped around his upper chest as well. Phasma looked more concerned, after all Hux was the closest thing she had ever had to a friend. “What happened to us both. . .?” 

The ginger man replied in a dark tone, “Lord Ren happened.” He crossed his arms as best as he could. “He lured us away from our duties and then the Knights of Ren ambushed us. You put up considerably more of a fight than I did so you suffered greater injury and were knocked unconscious multiple times. The dark lord brought us to one of the interrogation chambers and roughed us up so to speak. I suspect that he was doing this on the Supreme Leader’s orders, but nevertheless he seemed to be enjoying it. He then let the Knights have a turn and left us for dead.” His voice softened. “He took your armor and had it destroyed. I know that it meant a great deal to you, I am sorry.” 

Those words hit Phasma like a tidal wave, slamming into her, surrounding and suffocating her. How couldn’t she have realized that it was gone until now? The ginger haired formal general was right; that armor did mean a great deal to her. She had forged it out of the remains of his father’s ship that had crashed on her home planet of Parnassos. It symbolized both her past and her future as well as how much she had to overcome and sacrifice to survive. She had always kept her face covered by her chrome helmet so that no one could see her facial expressions or determine her emotions through her voice. And without it, she now felt lost and vulnerable. . . Her right hand began to shake slightly as it often did when she was overwhelmed by strong emotions, especially fear or panic. She curled it into a tight fist to keep it under control and took deep breaths, staring up at the ceiling and trying to stay calm. 

“I understand how you feel. . .” Hux’s voice became softer and filled with sadness. “I lost Millicent too…” Tears formed in the corners of his green eyes and he quickly blinked them away. Millicent, his female ginger tabby cat, had been quite dear to him. She would often sleep in his hat or run around StarKiller base, making mischief and getting under the feet of the officers on the bridge. And now that she was gone, it was like a piece of him was missing. 

A brief silence fell as Phasma and Hux each did their best to get their own emotions under control. The tall woman broke the silence. “I am sorry for your loss Gen- Sir.” 

Hux nodded and said softly, “Thank you, and you don’t have to call me Sir.” 

“Tell me the rest of what happened.” 

“Right, sorry. Let's continue.” Hux adjusted the sling on his arm, still looking sad. “He threw us into a cell and left us for dead. He said he would be back in a few hours to dispose of this. I assume he was planning to throw us out of the airlock. You were barely conscious and couldn’t walk, and I wasn’t in much better shape, but I managed to get the both of us to a shuttle before you passed out or anyone noticed us.” 

“Where are we now, Sir?” Phasma tried to sit up again but another wave of dizziness washed over her and she was once again forced to give up. "

We are on a quite sparsely populated moon in orbit around an unnamed world in the unknown regions”. 

Phasma stiffened; she had never wanted to come back to the unknown regions. It was an unexplored and dangerous place, and she had no intentions of ever being this close to her homeworld again. “How far are we from Parnassos?” 

Hux raised an eyebrow at her; he had never heard the former stormtrooper captain mention her homeworld or anything about her life before the order for that matter and he was surprised that she did so now. “Parnassos, your homeworld? I’m not sure.” He gave her a puzzled look. “Why does it matter?” 

“It does not, I was just curious...” Phasma was glad that he had given her an inconclusive answer; she wouldn’t have felt safe if the planet was close by. She wanted to keep her past buried and far far away from them. 

Hux gave her a skeptical look, knowing that there was a deeper reason she had asked. “Here we will not have any contact with the rest of the galaxy nor any news of the war between the Order and the Resistance.” She nodded as her head began to pound and she closed her eyes. 

Another, longer silence fell, which was then broken by Hux. He said in a softer and more gentler voice, “Phasma, I have one last piece of bad news for you.” She kept her eyes closed and nodded slightly. “As I said earlier, you put up more of a fight against Ren than I did and therefore suffered more injury. He wasn’t happy with your fierce resistance and. . .” He paused. “Well, look at your leg. . .” 

Phasma opened her eyes and craned her neck so that she could get a decent view of her leg. Her eyes widened in shock and horror when she saw the awkward angle her ankle was bent at and the mess of bloody bandages surrounding her whole leg. 

Hux continued, trying to keep his voice gentle. “He used the force to crush some of your bones and tear some of your muscles. You may not be able to walk again, I am sorry. . .” 

Phasma clenched her hand into a fist as it began to tremble once again. A wave of many strong emotions slammed into her and she wasn’t sure how to process them all. 

Hux walked back over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “There is some hope; you might be able to walk again if it heals correctly. But I don’t think your leg is going to be fully functional again.” She swallowed, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. “It’ll be alright, you won’t have to do this alone. I’ll be here.” Hux felt as if he owed the tall woman something, after all she had been the one who had killed her father, even though it had been on his own orders. 

Phasma looked up at him, surprised by this, but also grateful. “Th-thank you…” Her voice was slightly unsteady because she was still overwhelmed by everything he had told her. Hux stepped away from her, feeling a bit awkward. “Try to relax and get some more rest.” Phasma nodded, closing her eyes once again and taking deep breaths. After awhile she managed to relax and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

“DAMMIT!” Phasma slammed her fist down onto her cot. It had been several months since she and Hux had come to this moon, and the condition of her injured leg wasn’t improving nearly as quickly as she wanted it to. She was still struggling to move those muscles and joints and learn to walk again, and her recent lack of progress was frustrating her a lot. 

Just as she tried once again to bend her stiff, sore knee, Hux walked into the room, the lower half of his face covered in ginger stubble. “You need to take it slow, Phasma; you’ve been pushing yourself too hard for the last few days. You need to rest your leg.” His voice was soft but stern as he gave her a sympathetic look. 

Phasma quickly brushed her now chin length blond hair out of her face, her irritation at his suggestion evident in her movements. “I cannot ‘take it slow’ as you put it or stop to rest. If I do not keep at it, I will never regain my ability to walk!” She narrowed her eyes at him and then looked down at her right leg. It was ringed with white, uneven scar tissue and her ankle was still slightly swollen and bent at an awkward angle. The bone had improperly set and rebreaking it would only make the immense damage to her leg even worse.

Hux softly sighed before saying, “Phasma if you don’t take it slow you’re only going to make the injury worse. Please rest.” 

“I do not have time to rest, I need to make more progress.” She crossed her arms, irritated; being confined to her bed for so many months had made her restless and quite irritable, and she wasn’t going to take the ginger man’s advice. She reached for a rough mahogany crutch which she had carved herself from the branch of an old tree that grew behind their hut and gripped it firmly, giving Hux an irritated look. He had insisted that she used all the spare time she had while stuck in bed doing something constructive instead of moping and suggested that she carve herself a crutch, and so she did. 

She finally managed to make her knee bend and a flare of sharp, hot pain shot through her leg. She grit her teeth against it and pushed herself to her feet, leaning heavily on her crutch. She managed to stand for a few seconds before her leg gave out under her and she fell to the floor, dropping her crutch. She clenched her teeth as her leg hit the floor and the pain increased once again. 

Hux rushed over to her, concerned, and said, “Are you alright? Here, let me help you back to your feet.” He bent down to help Phasma but she reached out with her left hand and roughly pushed him away. 

“I am fine, Hux, and I do not need your help. I can manage this alone.” 

Hux stepped back and sighed, wishing she would let him help her. But he had learned in the months of living with her that he had to be patient with her just as he had been patient with his enemies in battle as he waited for them to walk into his traps. He watched her, still bent over on the floor and collecting herself. 

After a minute or so, Phasma reached out and grabbed her crutch, firmly gripping it and bracing it against the rough wooden floor, and attempted to hoist herself up into a standing position. Her right leg was weak and could not support her weight so she fell back to the floor, groaning in frustration. She repeated this process several times before she angrily dropped her crutch. 

“Damn this useless leg!” She knew she couldn’t get up by herself but she was too stubborn and proud to ask Hux for help. She wished she could do it all on her own, and she wished that her leg hadn’t been injured like this. 

A long, awkward silence fell over the room which was then broken by Hux’s gentle voice. “Phasma, would you like some help now?” 

She sounded irritated with her own weakness as she said sharply and bitterly, “Yes.” 

Hux walked over to her and bent down, putting an arm around the left side of her body. He helped her stand, bearing the brunt of her weight, and guided her back to the cot. Her stiff knee once again refused to bend on its own so he bent it for her, causing sharp pain to shoot through her leg, and propped it up on the cot. She then propped her crutch up against the wall nearest her. 

The tall, blond woman showed no sign of the pain she felt but still had a frustrated look on her face. Hux saw this and his face softened a bit. “You don’t have to do this all alone Phasma, in fact you really shouldn’t. Trying to keep pushing yourself at the pace that you are will only make matters worse. I’m here and I will help you. If you need anything, just let me know.” 

She looked away from him and thought, ‘I must be self dependent, I cannot let myself become anymore weak and vulnerable than I already am.’ 

She reluctantly thanked him, and he nodded in response, sitting down in a chair in the corner of the room. He thought, ‘I wonder if she’ll ever learn how to willingly accept help.’ 

Phasma stared up at the ceiling, still feeling frustrated and wishing that she was anywhere but in this hut and had her freedom and independence back as she laid there in silence. . .


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The backstory that I lay out in this chapter for Phasma strays from canon a lot so I just wanted to warn you all in case you haven't read the Phasma novel or don't know about her backstory. Also t/w: sexual assault and abuse get mentioned in this chapter so read at your own discretion.

Phasma bent down in front of a chicken coop, leaning slightly on her crutch as she sprinkled feed into it. A lean, muscular black cat with purple eyes walked up behind her with a bounce in her step.The chickens came to the spot where she dropped it, pushing each other out of the way and clucking excitedly, and began to eat. The cat rubbed up against her good leg gently and affectionately and she bent down a bit more and pet the cat’s head. She smiled slightly and said, “Hello, Amethyst,” and Amethyst meowed happily in response. 

It had been a year since Hux had saved Phasma and brought her to this planet, and her leg had healed as much as it ever would. She needed the crutch when she walked; the muscles and bones in her right leg had deteriorated because of the injury from Ren and it did not take her whole weight well. Even now she often struggled with the fact that she would never be able to run or hunt again and this left her feeling useless. Hux knew that she needed something constructive to focus her energy on and he still missed Millicent greatly so he had gotten each of them a cat. His was a tabby male named Sapphire and hers was the beautiful black cat she pet now. He was right, a cat was just the thing that his friend needed; she loved Amethyst and took good care of her. 

Phasma continued to pet the cat and feed the noisy, hungry chickens until she heard strong footsteps behind her. She quickly picked the basket of feed up from the ground and turned around leaning on the smooth mahogany crutch so she kept most of her weight on her left side and off of her bad leg. Hux stood in front of her with a large basket of purplish strawberry like fruits tucked under his right arm. His ginger hair was short but no longer neat and precise like he had kept it back in the First Order and a short beard covered his chiseled chin and strong jaw. A lean, beautiful looking ginger cat protectively and affectionately circled around his legs and rubbed up against the loose fitting brown pants that covered them. 

He set the basket down on the ground, careful not to spill its contents, and buttoned the top button of his off white shirt. He gave Phasma a no-nonsense look as he said in a low, serious tone, “Phasma there’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you for some time. Come back to the hut with me, it's better that we discuss this inside.” 

Phasma raised an eyebrow at him, curious as to what the question would be. “Alright, let us go inside then.” She quickly finished feeding the rowdy chickens and picked up the now empty basket; she then began to walk with her uneven gait, keeping most of her weight on her good leg as her bad leg awkwardly shuffled along. Hux walked slowly so that the tall woman could match her pace with his and not fall behind. The cats trailed behind the two of them, circling each other playfully. 

Shortly they arrived at the hut and walked in. Hux sat down in his favorite chair by the fireplace and motioned for Phasma to sit in hers. She awkwardly lowered herself into it and propped her bad leg up. Amethyst jumped into her lap, happily purring, and Sapphire rubbed his head against his master’s legs. Curiosity crept into Phasma’s voice as she asked, “What is the question you wish to ask me, Hux? I am listening and ready to answer.”  
Hux folded his pale, calloused hands in his lap and said in a soft voice, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about this for quite some time now. Whenever I mention my father around you you always seem to tense up and close yourself off from me. And I remember that on the day that I asked you to kill him, you seemed scared yet eager to do it. I could hear it in your voice, even through your helmet’s voice modulation and I could tell from the way your body language changed I had never heard and felt emotions come from you like that. What kind of history do you have with Brendol Hux. . .?” 

Phasma immediately stiffened, keeping her hands busy by petting her cat. She wore a guarded posture and facial expression hoping that it would protect her just like her chrome armor once had. She met his gaze, refusing to show the slightest hint of vulnerability through her body language, but she was quite uncomfortable with this question. She thought, ‘I cannot let him find out anymore than he already knows. . .’ She said defensively, “That is not any of your business Hux, and I do not wish to answer that question.” 

Hux could see that she was about to change the subject and quickly cut her off before she could. “Phasma it is my business. He was my father and I know how much of an asshole he was. I just want to know if he hurt you, my friend.” He genuinely meant what he said, and it was evident in his gentle tone of voice. 

Phasma crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her nervousness with hostility. “The fact that he is your father does not mean that I owe you any sort of explanation.” 

“Maybe not, but I did save you all those months ago from Ren and help you recover from your injuries.” Hux didn’t particularly like pulling this card on his only friend but he needed answers and he knew this was the only way he could get her to talk.

Amethyst could tell that her master was tense so she gently rubbed her head into her crossed arms, purring insistently. Phasma sighed; the card that her friend had pulled was clearly working on her. She went back to petting her cat. “Fine, I will answer your question.” Her voice became softer and finally betrayed a hint of the anxiousness she was feeling about this whole situation. “Brendol’s poor treatment of people extended far beyond you and his other subordinates; I also suffered at his hands. . .” 

Hux thought, ‘Just as I suspected. . .’ He gave the tall woman all of his attention as he asked, “Tell me, what did he do to you?” 

The nervousness in her voice increased tenfold as she said, “Ever since his ship crashed on Parnassos and my warriors and I found him, he had always shown a particular interest in me. The way that he would look at me with his piercing gaze. . .” She shuddered, looking at her cat who purred affectionately, laying its head on her chest. Amethyst’s comforting presence reassured her and helped her continue her story. 

Hux raised an eyebrow at his friend’s last statement but didn’t interrupt. He was pretty sure he knew what she meant by it but he wanted to hear it from her.

“He would always talk to me alone and entrust me with more important tasks than the rest of my warriors. I wondered why he showed me this treatment and what he wanted from me. I would soon find out. . . He did not begin his mistreatment of me until both of us arrived on the Finalizer. On our first night there, he took me to his quarters and laid out the conditions which I had to follow in order to stay in the Order and in his favor. . .”

She paused, her right hand beginning to tremble and her voice beginning to shake. Her black cat nuzzled its head into her chest in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. “I. . .I was made to give him whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Most of the time he wished for me to share his bed with him, and I learnt what that hungry look meant. . .” 

The shaking had spread to her other hand and she shut her eyes, a pained expression on her face. Her voice trembled. “He was never gentle with me, and if I displeased him he would hit me. He was no match for me but I had to take the punishments quietly or I would receive a greater one. . .” She took a deep breath, trying to control her shaking hands. Amethyst laid her head still against Phasma’s chest, purring soothingly. “I was so weak. . .” Phasma took in a few shaky breaths as tears rolled down her face; she was so ashamed at admitting what she viewed as her greatest weakness. 

Hux listened, unsurprised but sorrowful for his friend and angry at his late father. “I am so sorry Phasma. My father was an asshole and a terrible man. If I would have known I would have stepped in. . .” Guilt began to creep into his voice. He had suspected that Phasma had been at Brendol’s mercy ever since she had arrived on The Finalizer, but he had not acted on these suspicions. He could have saved his friend from a world of hurt if he had just investigated, but it was much too late now. “And you are not weak, you did what was necessary for your own survival.” 

Phasma shakily pet Amethyst who continued to purr and try to comfort her. She took deep breaths and nodded to Hux, still feeling very ashamed despite his reassuring words. “Thank you. . .so now you see the reason behind my reaction when I received my orders to eliminate him.” 

Hux nodded. “I do.” He paused, thinking, which gave Phasma time to collect herself. He then asked curiously, “And what of the trooper Captain Cardinal that you executed? I know that the official record states it was on the grounds of sedition, but after hearing your story I’m certain that there is more to it than that.” 

Phasma nodded, still looking rattled even though she was no longer shaking. “You are right, there is more to it than sedition. . . Despite what the records say, Cardinal was always quite loyal to the Order, and he was loyal to Brendol up until he found out what kind of man he truly was. He then confronted Brendol about it and received many threats from him. Brendol sent me to eliminate him before he could report this to anyone. And naturally I had no choice but to obey. . .” She looked away, feeling weak and miserable again. 

Hux walked over to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder which caused her to flinch slightly. “Phasma, you are not weak. You had to undergo all of this from him just to survive and keep your position in the Order. And then you were brave enough to kill him and break free from his grasp. It doesn’t matter that it was on my orders, you still did it. I understand how you feel, my father and Allegiant General Pryde abused me for many years. I struggled with feeling weak as well. But I learned that these experiences made me stronger and I hope you’ll learn that too.” 

Phasma nodded, feeling a bit better after hugging her loyal black cat close to herself and hearing Hux’s reassuring words. “Thank you Hux.” 

He nodded in return. “I need to tend to the orchard now, stay here and rest. I know that wasn’t easy for you to talk about.” Hux was right, it wasn’t easy for her to talk about. In fact he was the first and last person Phasma would ever speak to about any of this. 

Hux left the Hux and his loyal ginger cat following close at his heels. Phasma set her black cat down on the floor who promptly sprawled out in a sunny spot under the window. She smiled at the cat, gathering her thoughts and trying to rest like her friend had told her to do, grateful for his kind and understanding words to her.


	4. Chapter 4

Phasma walked down a smoothly packed dirt path through a grove of beautiful trees with glossy brown trunks and ripe, round, light pink fruits that hung down from their branches. The fruits’ shiny skin sparkled with morning dewdrops and they swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze. Only a faint silhouette of the former stormtrooper captain could be made out in the darkness; topmost branches of the fruit trees hung over the path in a tangled mess and blocked out the light coming from the slowly rising suns. A long, blond, tightly woven braid hung down her back, moving back and forth as she limped along, leaning on her crutch. It had been several years since Phasma had shared her deepest secret with Hux and since then she had let it grow out. She kept it long as a symbol of the fact that she was no longer at war, no longer the fiercest of the first order’s warriors. Her time on this planet with Hux had changed her for the better.

Near the end of the path she stopped and carefully plucked one of the pink fruits from the tree, thoughtfully looking at its shiny exterior. The way it sparkled in the sunlight reminded her of the way her chrome armor had once shone in the harsh light of StarKiller Base’s hallways after she had spent countless hours polishing it. She thought of everything she had been through at the hands of both her cruel homeworld and Brendol Hux. She had had to fight her way through the unforgiving terrain of Parnassos only to become nothing more than a mere toy to the man who had rescued her from it. She thought of the person she had been back then; so defensive and guarded, viewing all of her flaws and vulnerability as weaknesses and hating herself for what had happened with Brendol, and sighed. She took a bite of the fruit and limped back toward the cottage, still leaning on her crutch. 

Once she arrived, she lowered herself awkwardly into her chair, the stiff joints in her bad leg fighting against her. She leaned her crutch up against the wall next to her, made herself comfortable, and propped her bad leg up. Amethyst quickly walked to her when she saw her enter and rubbed up against her good leg to show her affection. The spring in her step was gone and there were streaks of grey in her once glossy black fur. Phasma smiled, reaching down and petting her with a calloused hand. She said gently, “Hello Amethyst, it is good to see you too.” Amethyst meowed and curled up around her good leg. Phasma was always grateful for her cat’s comforting presence; she had helped her stay sane while recovering from her injury and learning to cope with the permanent damage it had left to her leg. Amethyst had always been one of the most loyal and gentle of companions to her. 

She pet her one more time before reaching into a reed basket next to her chair and pulling out a worn white button down shirt. Several of the buttons were missing and a needle was stuck through one of the button holes, white thread trailing behind it. She pulled a box of buttons out of it as well and selected several matching white ones before putting it away. She pulled the needle out of the shirt and carefully began to sew a button on. The vibrations of Amethyst’s soft purring put her at ease and caused her to slip back into her own thoughts. At first, just after her leg had healed as much as it would, she constantly felt useless, restless and angry. She could no longer run, hunt, fight, or effectively defend herself and it weighed on her greatly. She thought she was a burden and had lost her purpose, but Hux had helped her see that there was more to life than war and survival. He brought Amethyst home for her so that she had someone to care for other than herself, and then he found chores for her to do so she no longer felt like a burden, such as weaving, sewing, and taking care of the animals. The first time she attempted to patch a shirt had thought that she had forgotten how to sew. She had always been the warrior and not the weaver; she hadn’t needed to do chores like that since she was a small child since she brought in the meat for her clan and kept it safe from enemies. However it only took her a very short time to get the hang of it and realize that she hadn’t forgotten at all. 

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of firm echoing footsteps that she recognized as belonging to her friend Armitage Hux. She looked up at him and smiled as he pushed the dense wooden door open with his foot, balancing many baskets of food, medicine, and other supplies in his arms. His short ginger hair was disheveled from the windy ride to the market and a scruffy beard lined his strong jaw. He returned Phasma’s smile with a small one of his own as he began to unload the supplies and put them into their proper places. Sapphire limped through the door after his master, streaks of grey present in his now dull ginger fur. He curled up by Phasma’s foot very close to Amethyst and began to purr contentedly as well. Phasma reached down to pet both of the cats and then continued to sew. “How was the market, Hux?” 

He replied, sounding a bit tired from the long journey, “A lot busier than usual. Several of the locals tried to steal some of our supplies while I was there, but I expected it so they didn’t get away with anything. Phasma nodded, not surprised by the news. Thefts and other crimes at the market were a regular occurrence, and Phasma never went there alone because of it. Her leg made the long journey quite uncomfortable for her so she usually stayed at the hut when Hux travelled there. “I am glad you returned safely.” 

She continued to sew and Hux nodded his thanks. “Me too Phasma.” He had forgotten to shut the door behind himself in his rush to unload the supplies and the crisp autumn air drifted into the well lit room through it. Phasma’s bad leg tensed up as pain shot through her knee and ankle. They began to ache as they always did when the seasons changed and the weather began to get colder. She reached down and rolled up her pant leg to see that her ankle was starting to swell. She sighed, hoping that her knee wouldn’t follow suit. She tried to rub it but drew back, wincing. Both Sapphire and Amethyst meowed their concern. 

The sound of Phasma’s sharp inhale and the cats’ meows caught Hux’s attention so he quickly set loaf of bread he was holding back in its basket and turned around to look at his friend. He saw the look of pain on her face and her puffy red ankle and immediately knew what was wrong. “Phasma, it's because of the cold weather, isn’t it?” 

She nodded. “Yes, Hux.” 

He responded, still concerned, “How bad is it?” 

“It started to get quite painful a few minutes ago.” Her voice took on an annoyed tone. 

“I’ll get a cold washcloth for you to put on it.”   
She nodded her thanks as he left. Shortly after he came back with a cold cloth and gently wrapped it around her ankle, careful not to hurt it. “There.”

Phasma watched him as he picked up a small basket and dug around in it until he found a tiny non-descript copper tin and handed it to her. Before she could ask what it was for he said, “I knew that your leg was going to bother you since the seasons are changing so I talked with a healer and had her make this for you. The balm inside will help with the joint pain from the weather. Just apply some over your whole leg, especially on your ankle.” 

Phasma took it from him, set the cold cloth aside, and began to gingerly rub the cream onto her ankle. It immediately began to cool her ankle and soothe it; the aching eased slightly and her skin was no longer hot to the touch.

“Is it helping?”

She nodded in response. 

”Good, if you need anything just let me know and I’ll get it for you.” 

“Thank you Hux.” 

They both went back to their respective chores and worked in silence as they often did, only having small conversations here and there. They were both beings of few words; they preferred sharing each other's company over idle conversation. 

Hux had been a faithful friend to her ever since he brought her to this planet and Phasma would be forever grateful for that. He was always willing to help her when she was recovering from her injury even though she constantly pushed him away with her harsh words and actions. He had helped her learn to accept herself which she would have never been able to do on her own, and without him, she wouldn’t be the person she was today. She smiled at him as she continued to sew. “Thank you for everything, Hux.” Hux was a little surprised by this. “You’re welcome, Phasma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this! I had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you all had fun reading it.


End file.
